04/23/2024
- Who We Are
On June 2, Kanat Sharlapayev, Chairman of the Board of Baiterek Holding, met with Anita Bhatia, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the UN Women.
Kanat Sharlapayev told Anita Bhatia what Baiterek Holding is doing to support women not only within the company but also in the entire country.
Earlier, Baiterek Holding endorsed the UN’s Women Empowerment Principles. The application for joining was signed by Kanat Sharlapayev, and the company was successfully registered on the global WEPs platform.
– Baiterek Holding is the first company in Kazakhstan to pledge support to the principles of WEPs in the post-pandemic period. We welcome Baiterek Holding to the Women's Empowerment Principles and hope that it will serve as an example for other companies in Kazakhstan, – said Maria Dotsenko, Representative of UN Women in Kazakhstan.
She also stated that Kazakhstan is a leader in Central Asia in promoting WEPs in companies.
Kanat Sharlapayev noted that Baiterek Holding, being a financial development institution and contributing to the sustainable development of Kazakhstan, actively integrates the principles of sustainable development into its activities.
– The Holding pays special attention to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One of the most important SDGs is ensuring gender equality and empowering women. The Holding's sustainable development policy reinforces the need for responsible labor practices. We try to provide equal opportunities and do not allow discrimination against our employees in any way. The UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles will help us further promote gender equality, – said Kanat Sharlapayev.
It should be noted that Baiterek Holding promotes women's initiatives and women's leadership in every possible way. The Holding’s Unified Personnel Policy for 2022-2024 regulates the number of women in the management of the Holding and its subsidiaries. In addition, women are given priority in the selection of the Holding’s Personnel Reserve.
Also, the Holding helps women with children who are coping with difficult situations. In 2021, a charity fair raised more than 1 million tenge for the purchase of New Year's gifts for children undergoing long-term treatment at the Maternity and Childhood Center.
Moreover, Otbasy Bank and the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund (the Holding’s subsidiaries) provide Umai mortgage programs designed especially for women.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles were developed by UN Women and the UN Global Compact in 2010. The document is a practical guide for businesses that contains a set of recommendations for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment within companies; within consumer markets; through the implementation of social projects and interaction with the civil sector.
The signing of the WEPs is the Holding’s initiative in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. Today, more than 5,000 companies in the world endorse the WEPs, of which 40 are Kazakhstan-based. It makes Kazakhstan the country with the largest number of companies that have joined the WEPs in Central Asia.
